Coma

About the Project

Coma is a documentary film that gives voice to people whose quality of life and very existence have been threatened. The film goes inside a top U.S. medical facility for the treatment of head trauma and follows four coma survivors over the course of a year.

In the wake of the Terri Schiavo media spectacle and the "awakening" of Terry Wallis from a minimally conscious state after 19 years of silence, Garbus strives to find answers away from the glare of the media. With unprecedented access to the Center for Head Injuries at the JFK Medical Center in Edison, NJ, she chronicles the emotional stories of four families for one year, looking through the eyes of their renowned physicians and neuropsychologists, led by Dr. Joseph Giacino and Dr. Caroline McCagg.

As Garbus documents the care and treatment of the four individuals, each emerges from coma either to regain consciousness or to remain trapped, perhaps indefinitely, in a vegetative state. For the vast majority of patients, the first year is a critical window of time for recovery; most doctors agree that after a year, chances of progress are slim to none.

Each patient's progress is the source of the joy and sorrow of the ever-present family members, who have put their lives on hold to become caregivers.